Project: Widebody - 02 Conversion

Well, I decided to do a little "work" on my '91 this winter. I figured many of you would like to see the conversion begining to end. So here we go...

Here is what I'm starting with. It's a 1991 Formula Red NSX with 55K miles. Very good condition. I am not in any way a purest but I do respect the original syling of the NSX. My goal is to bring the car up to date by adding the 2002 style headlings and do some custom body work to improve the function of some of the body modifications.
Versus "Sorcery replica" Widebody kit.
Route-KS Stealth hood
DownForce rear diffusor and NSX-R wing
Tein Flex Coilovers
Volk GT-C wheels (18-19)
Sorcery F1 Exhaust (custom tail pipe)
2002 Head light conversion
Gruppe M intake.
more to come...


I started removing the body panels / headlamp ass. the other day. I purchased the manual from Helm. That was a life saver. There are a few hidden fasteners that you wouldn't think to look for... I also got the Route-KS Stealth hood in and started fitting it to the body. Fits OK, Have to notch out the left lower hinge hole a bit but I'm waiting to get the fenders and bumper on before I make the final adjustments.


I recieved the rear diffusor from DownForce. Very nice quality. I asked Peter from DownForce to include the side pieces to try and connect the diffusor to the bumper. The diffusor is designed to work with a stock lower valance but I think it will look more finished if it wraps all the up to the bumper (I will be cutting out the stock spats). I guess I'll have to do a little fiberglass work sense the side pieces he provided will not look right. I do plan to paint the sides of the diffusor, I think it make the back end look more finished... I'm also planing to us Sorcery's center exit exhaust to make use of the center opening. Also going to have a freind make a custom tail pipe to fill in the opening (kind of like the Koenigsegg) http://www.koenigsegg.com/graphics/ccr_back.jpg



Have an idea for the hood vents. The Stealth hood is cool on it's own but I think I can make it more functional. The hood is designed to be used with the spare tire. I'm not planing on putting the spare back in. So that leaves some room to make the hood vents more "complete". My though is two fold. First, if I make the vents go all the way to the radiator it will help excelerate the air and assist in cooling. Second, if I eliminate the air pressure under the hood that should prevent any hood lift that many are compaining about with aftermarket hoods. I will have to replace the radiator though. The stock hose connection is located on the top (right in the way of the vent). I'm looking for a race style radiator with side connections to get the clearence I need. I should be able to clear the brake res.



Should start hanging the rest of the body parts in a few days....

VRoooM said:

I recieved the rear diffusor from DownForce. Very nice quality. I asked Peter from DownForce to include the side pieces to try and connect the diffusor to the bumper. The diffusor is designed to work with a stock lower valance but I think it will look more finished if it wraps all the up to the bumper (I will be cutting out the stock spats). I guess I'll have to do a little fiberglass work sense the side pieces he provided will not look right. I do plan to paint the sides of the diffusor, I think it make the back end look more finished... I'm also planing to us Sorcery's center exit exhaust to make use of the center opening. Also going to have a freind make a custom tail pipe to fill in the opening (kind of like the Koenigsegg)

Click to expand...

I'm having trouble figuring out what you mean by this. I made some quick images below. Any of them seem like its in the line your speaking of?

I quess more like your last one but all the rear facing parts of the spat would be gone. This would create a more rectangular opening that I would fill with some perfed screen. I might end up painting part of the diffusor also (not sure yet). I need to get the rear quarters on to check the body lines. I think once I get a little further along it will start to make sense.

wow, great idea with the hood vents and radiator.... subcribed for progress.
Good to see another widebody adding to the family.

Looks like a nice project

You must remember he is doing a custom center exhaust. The left and right area (where oem pipes are) will be GONE! It will be meshed in to look like a 360 Modena sort of.

Also the kit came in today, so he will have a lot of pics to upload tonight! :biggrin: We now need to get the custom offsets worked out on the wheels, so I can get the next group of parts coming. :wink:

This also should be a sticky. :smile:

I cant wait to see how this turns out. Please take pics of the progress... its fun to look back and seen where you've been and see how far you've come.

I am also intrested in this because i also plan to get a 1991-1994 and widebody it with the 2002 front end conversion.

What are you going to do about the engine bay color and under the hood, etc? I'm curious because i allways thought it would be a pain in the ass to have to drop the engine just to paint the bay and it would add a lot of cost to the final bill. I was thinking more along the lines of getting a black/black nsx and then just repainting the rest of it but leaving the engine bay black.

I belive that Jin1976 had his bay actually painted black on his blue nsx and it really set off the entire bay against the car. Just wondering what your thoughts/plans were for that portion of the project.




Hope its okay that i posted your photos Jin!!!

Anyway, great project! Keep us up to date!

The painting in the engine bay, door jambs, trunk, under the hood etc won't change, because the car is remaining oem formula red when done.

Started fitting the body panels. The Versus kit seems to be what I would consider average quality. This by no means is a "peal and stick" body kit you put on in your driveway on an afternoon. It takes time to fit and may even need some cutting and shaping to fit perfect.


Has anyone had experience with the 02 headlight conversion? My question is part of the bumper support appears as if it needs to be cut out. I haven't recieve my light from SOS yet so I have nothing to compare it to...

Wow...looking good already!! I'm planning of going widebody too so would like to know how hard is it to remove the body panels? any advice?
Thanks

hey jin your car was originally black wasn't it, thus teh black engine bay?

da3dalus said:

I cant wait to see how this turns out. Please take pics of the progress... its fun to look back and seen where you've been and see how far you've come.

I am also intrested in this because i also plan to get a 1991-1994 and widebody it with the 2002 front end conversion.

What are you going to do about the engine bay color and under the hood, etc? I'm curious because i allways thought it would be a pain in the ass to have to drop the engine just to paint the bay and it would add a lot of cost to the final bill. I was thinking more along the lines of getting a black/black nsx and then just repainting the rest of it but leaving the engine bay black.

I belive that Jin1976 had his bay actually painted black on his blue nsx and it really set off the entire bay against the car. Just wondering what your thoughts/plans were for that portion of the project.

Hope its okay that i posted your photos Jin!!!

Anyway, great project! Keep us up to date!

Click to expand...

jagtiger, If you look at the FAQ section of prime, you can view the service manual via PDF file. Section 20 in the manual is body parts..

VRoooM said:

Has anyone had experience with the 02 headlight conversion? My question is part of the bumper support appears as if it needs to be cut out. I haven't recieve my light from SOS yet so I have nothing to compare it to...

Click to expand...

I did my own 02 conversion... its a bit hard to remember for me because i took the complete nose off of my car for the conversion.. and also ordered every part new from acura....

I didnt end up cutting that support, and I wouldnt suggest cutting the bumper support piece though, i cant remember for sure but i'm about 90% positive that when i did it it required a new aluminum upper bumper support, whereas the new one is designed differently and this part is cut down around the light...

Did you order the complete 02 upgrade from SOS... or just the lights.... because the conversion requires a bit of other structural parts as well, alot more than you'd expect...

actually, now that i remember I DEFINITELY got the new aluminum bumper support, if i remember right it was around $300... sorry for the vagueness its been about a year since i did mine...

Actually it was originally red. The previous owner was too lazy to get the engine bay painted. I wanted to show off the engine bay but may look funny if the exterior was blue and the bay was red.

khappucino said:

hey jin your car was originally black wasn't it, thus teh black engine bay?

Click to expand...

You will need to get the aluminium bumper support for the 02 headlamps. Mine came with teh original Sorcery kit.

VRoooM said:

Started fitting the body panels. The Versus kit seems to be what I would consider average quality. This by no means is a "peal and stick" body kit you put on in your driveway on an afternoon. It takes time to fit and may even need some cutting and shaping to fit perfect.

Has anyone had experience with the 02 headlight conversion? My question is part of the bumper support appears as if it needs to be cut out. I haven't recieve my light from SOS yet so I have nothing to compare it to...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I did order the headlight conversion kit from SOS. I don't know what it all comes with for brackets etc. I didn't get any supports with the body kit, just the panels themselves. I guess I'll have to call the Acura dealer...

WOW looking good! Are you doing that yourself in your garage?

My goal is to get the body panels fitted and propery gaped on the car and do some basic block sanding (and filling). Then let a body shop take over to do the final shaping / prep/ painting. Then I'll reassemble/ fit the car myself back in the garage. I am by no means a "body guy" but I have quite a bit of experience in shaping and using fibergass and fillers. For many years I've built show vehicles for audio companies like JBL, Infinity and Harmon Kardon. I'm hoping to save the bulk of the body shop costs by doing the "grunt" work myself. I guess you need to know your limitations.

By the way donwon, the hood looks 10 times better with the wide front fenders...you were right, that hood is a little agressive with the stock front end.

Way to be using the DownForce diff... very nice.. DF makes nice stuff.. and they are very helpful.. looks great on the car.. nice job

Just finished mocking up the rockers. The carbon splitters fit right into the factory rolled seam under the body (by the jack points). There is quite a bit of adjustment on the lower (brake cooler) duct. I ovaled out the mouting holes a bit to give me some adjustment later.


I had to order the upper bumper support for the 2002 headlights from the Acura dealer. Going to take a week or so before I get 'em. Also, still don't have the headlight Kit from SOS yet. Evidently they are waiting on a bracket or something. I figured I'd work on the hood ducts. Still haven't found a radiator to use yet. I decided to pull the factory radiator out to finish the forms for the ducts. Took quite a bit to get them to fit just right and line up with the hood. I'll use some light weight body filler to radius the corners and fill any pits. Then give it 4 layers of fiberglass, bust out the foam and reinforce the back side if needed. After looking at the way the hood closes I think I might fiberglass the duct right into the hood and create a seam 4" down from where it is now. So 1/3 of the duct would stay on the hood and 2/3 would stay connected to the radiator. That way the seam would be less visable and easier to adjust.

good luck on the project!
Can't wait for the results!
Your doing exactly what I wanted to originally. love to see the 02 sorcery widebody in red.

Headlights came in on Thursday from Science of Speed. The kit includes literaly everything you need to convert the headlights. You use most of the stock wires/plugs to connect the lights. Just have to wire in the low beam harness into the stock wires.


The kit also includes the bumper brackets and upper bumper support (all OEM Honda Parts).



You do (as posted in other threads on NSX Prime) have to cut out a small section of the inner headlight bucket to fit the new lamps in. I cut little by little to make sure I didn't cut to much. It's very tight now but I figured I would file the rest by hand (maybe another 3/32") just to give me some adjustment later. Then trim it out with black door edge moulding so you don't see the cut edge.


The new headlights really change the look of the car. I still have quite a bit of fitting on the body panels (just through the front bumper cover on to get a peak). I should have the hood ducts done soon. I'll post more pics as I go...

looking snazzy!!!! Headlights are gorgeous! And that hood looks agressive as hell!